


Some Crimes Are Okay If You Mean Well (By Team Kakashi)

by ihopethelightwillshineupon



Category: Naruto
Genre: Chakra exhaustion, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 Bonding (Naruto), Dai-nana-han | Team 7 Fluff (Naruto), Dai-nana-han | Team 7 as Family (Naruto), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Gen, Hurt Hatake Kakashi, Hurt/Comfort, Sick Hatake Kakashi, Team as Family, Whump, i love my chaotic ninja children and their dumb sensei, kakashi doesn’t know how to take care of himself but we love him anyway, team 7 minus sasuke plus sai, the kids taking care of their team leader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:42:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24588532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ihopethelightwillshineupon/pseuds/ihopethelightwillshineupon
Summary: It’s common knowledge to Team Kakashi that their team leader is late to everything. Not showing up at all, though, is something new.It turns out that Kakashi exhausted lots of his chakra on a late-night mission, and needs to stay in bed all day. And even though he’spretty clearabout wanting to be left alone, his team is determined to check on him regardless.Or: How Naruto, Sakura and Sai try todiscreetlycheck on Kakashi, but then end up breaking into his apartment to help him.
Relationships: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Hatake Kakashi, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Hatake Kakashi & Sai, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Sai, Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi & Sai & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Sai & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 14
Kudos: 340





	Some Crimes Are Okay If You Mean Well (By Team Kakashi)

Team Kakashi spent most of their free time training. It wasn’t as if their technique was worth improving, anymore, but they liked each other’s company and they liked to make themselves useful in the time they could spend lazing off. Plus, they’d only had few opportunities to work alongside Sai so far, and it was worth it to improve their teamwork.

There were few days that they were all free at the same time, as missions took up lots of their time. So the days that they _did_ manage to meet and train together, they made sure to use their time to the fullest extent. Even Kakashi-sensei usually made an effort to be on time.

Today, though, Team Kakashi’s students wandered onto the training field and saw not their sensei, but Yamato waiting for them.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. “Captain Yamato,” he sighed, more to himself than to Yamato. “Did Kakashi-sensei forget about training again?”

Yamato laughed. “He didn’t forget,” he replied. “Kakashi-senpai just asked me to fill in for him, today.”

“The lazy bastard!” Naruto was about to protest further, but Sakura pushed him out of the way, effectively shutting him up.

“Why isn’t Kakashi-sensei here?” she asked Yamato.

“Well,” he replied, nervously scratching at the back of his head, “Kakashi said that his last mission kind of tired him out, so he wanted to stay home for the day. He said he’d even been to the hospital, so I’m guessing he’s really not feeling well.”

Naruto felt all of his annoyance wash away – he felt a bit guilty for immediately assuming the worst about Kakashi. “Oh. That sucks.”

“Should we visit him?” Sai asked.

Yamato shook his head. “He said he’d probably need to sleep all day if he wanted to function tomorrow, so we should probably leave him alone.”

Sai looked at the ground. He looked a bit disappointed that his suggestion had been shut down. “Oh. I thought that visiting might be a good thing to do.”

Naruto, feeling sympathy for his teammate, put a hand on Sai’s shoulder. “I think it’s a good idea,” he said, earning protests from Yamato. “We should at least check up on sensei, to make sure he’s not dying. We could go after training – maybe he’ll feel better by then.”

Yamato gave a long-suffering sigh. “Fine, then. But go when I’m not around, so that I’m not held responsible for your actions, okay?”

And that was how Team Kakashi ended up on the roof of their sensei’s apartment building. It was evening, by now; the sky was slowly turning pinkish. Yamato had left a couple of minutes earlier, leaving them with one last warning that if they somehow woke Kakashi up, they would suffer his eternal wrath. Naruto shuddered at the memory of the threat.

Just to avoid pissing Yamato off, the team had decided to check on Kakashi as quietly as possible, by peeking through the windows to his apartment.

Sakura was still giving Naruto a disgusted look, even though it had been half an hour since he’d proposed the plan. “You _do_ realize that this is technically a breach of privacy, right?”

“ _Technically,_ yes,” Naruto replied.

“We’re going to be in so much trouble if we get caught.”

“Captain Yamato didn’t really give us many other options,” he countered.

“We could just go home?”

“No,” Naruto replied. “Sakura, you know how Kakashi-sensei is. He’s the kind of person that’d describe a stab wound as a paper cut. I just want to be sure that he’s not dead.”

“I agree,” Sai added cheerfully. “It _would_ be quite bothersome if we lost our team leader.”

Sakura sighed. “I guess you’re right,” she said. “Let’s get it over with, then, before we get arrested.”

The three of them channeled chakra to their hands and feet and crawled towards the window of Kakashi’s apartment. The curtains were drawn, and the lights were on inside. The windows were open – it was a warm day, after all. Naruto gestured once more that they should all be quiet, and then crawled closer to the window, so that he could see inside the apartment.

Kakashi was sitting on the edge of his bed, in the motion of putting his sandals on. He was dressed in most of his shinobi uniform; he was missing the flak jacket and he hadn’t bothered to tape his pants to his ankles. He wasn’t leaving for a mission, then, but he did seem ready to leave his apartment.

“He’s already up and about,” Naruto whispered to his teammates, quietly enough that he was practically mouthing his words. “We were worried for nothing, I guess.”

“Let’s get out of here before he notices us spying on him,” Sakura whispered back.

She and Sai pulled back, but Naruto stayed to watch just a moment longer. As he watched, Kakashi got up from where he sat. Naruto noticed that he seemed very wobbly.

And right then, Kakashi collapsed.

All efforts at stealth forgotten, Naruto swore loudly and jumped in through the open window. Sakura and Sai followed without a moment’s hesitation, despite the fact that they didn’t know what was going on. Naruto kneeled next to Kakashi, who was now lying on the floor, his visible eye squeezed shut.

“Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto shouted. “Hey! Kakashi-sensei?”

Slowly, Kakashi’s eye opened again. He blinked sluggishly and sat up, one hand reaching up to rub at his face. “Oh,” he said after a second, when he’d taken in his surroundings and realized what had happened. “Sorry about that. How long was I out for?”

“A couple of seconds,” Sakura replied, her voice spiking with worry. “Are you okay, sensei?”

“Yeah. I- I think so.” Kakashi then paused, and looked at Sakura’s face, then Naruto’s, then Sai’s. “Wait,” he said. “Why are you all here?”

Naruto was suddenly very aware that they’d basically broken into Kakashi-sensei’s house. “Uhm.”

“We came over to visit you,” Sai said, smiling cheerfully under the glare that Sakura sent his way. “Captain Yamato warned us that we shouldn’t wake you up, so we decided to take a look through the window instead of knocking on your door.” He finally looked at Sakura’s face, noticed that she was looking pretty angry, and asked: “What’s wrong? I read that you shouldn’t have to lie to people you trust.”

Naruto waited nervously for Kakashi’s reaction, but he just huffed a laugh and shook his head. “I guess I should’ve seen that coming.” He smiled at his students’ faces. “Anyway, you don’t have to worry. I’m okay. I was actually about to go out to buy some food, because I was feeling better.”

“Yeah,” Sakura said, her tone sharp, “right before you passed out. You hadn’t even set foot outside your door.”

Kakashi’s face fell. “I… guess you’re right about that.”

Naruto felt sympathy for his sensei. He clearly wasn’t feeling well, no matter how stubbornly he tried to keep up appearances. “Hey, sensei,” Naruto said. “You should let us help. We could get you some food, at least.”

Kakashi shook his head – he seemed a little startled. “There’s no need,” he replied. “I’m going to lie back down for a bit, and then I’ll go out myself.”

“Like Hell you will,” Sakura hissed, making Kakashi-sensei flinch. “Sai, Naruto, you two stay here. I’ll go to the market and get some food. We can cook together, afterwards.”

Naruto spluttered. “Sakura, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said, trying to be careful but too startled to succeed. “It’s probably better if someone else buys ingredients. You know, someone who _can_ cook.”

He still hadn’t recovered from the horror that was her food pills. Sai still seemed to remember that, too, because he raised his hand and said: “I can go.”

“Yeah? You know how to cook?” Naruto asked him. It was always hard to judge where Sai’s talents lay.

Sai smiled. “Better than the two of you, at least.”

Sakura protested, but Naruto only shrugged. “That’s fair.” He pointed his finger towards Sai in a dramatic gesture. “We’re counting on you, Sai!”

Sai snapped a salute back at him. “I won’t fail.” He moved to leave, but hesitated. “Can I leave through the window, or should I use the door this time?”

Kakashi had completely given up by now. “You can pick one.”

“Right,” Sai replied. In one smooth motion, he vaulted himself over the windowsill and disappeared from sight.

In the new silence, Kakashi sighed and leaned his back against the side of the bed. He seemed very pale for someone who kept insisting that he was fine. Sakura watched him, shaking her head.

“I can’t believe the hospital personnel let you go home like this,” she said, her brow furrowed. “You overexerted yourself just by standing up. It’s irresponsible of them. Oh, if Lady Tsunade knew about this…”

Kakashi clenched his jaws underneath his mask. “Yeah. So, about that.”

“What is it?”

“I…” He looked away. “I didn’t go to the hospital. I just told Yamato that I did so that he’d leave me alone.”

It was silent for almost ten seconds as Sakura registered that answer. Judging by the incredulous look on her face, she wasn’t happy. Naruto could understand; this was potentially very dangerous.

Sakura gritted her teeth. Naruto braced himself for yelling, but her voice was quiet. “Holy _shit_ , you’re stupid,” she whispered. “You mean to tell me that you realized that you were suffering from chakra exhaustion – because you _are_ – and you didn’t go to the hospital regardless?”

“And you lied to Captain Yamato,” Naruto added. He wasn’t picking a side in this argument, but it was a truth that needed to be said.

Kakashi-sensei made a visible effort not to meet their eyes. “You’re both right,” he said. “I- I can explain, though--”

Sakura got up from the ground. “Spare your energy,” she cut him off. “We’re going to the hospital, _right now_. Naruto, you carry him. I’m too angry to be careful at the moment.”

“Sakura,” Kakashi-sensei said, softly. “Wait. Listen first, please.”

Naruto quietly stayed where he sat. For the first time today, Kakashi actually sounded tired and sick, and it scared him.

Sakura paused and turned around. She was still frowning. “Fine, try and explain. I’m listening.”

“I…” Kakashi sighed, as if it was suddenly very hard for him to speak. “I didn’t go to the hospital, because I hate hospitals.”

It startled Naruto. Kakashi-sensei hardly ever let loose anything personal. And even if he’d just told them the simplest of opinions, the way he’d said it suggested that he hadn’t liked admitting it and that they shouldn’t argue.

Sakura, though, just scoffed at him. “That’s it?” she said. “You don’t like hospitals? That’s your whole excuse?”

“Sakura, don’t--” Naruto started, but Kakashi-sensei was quicker.

“I can sleep chakra exhaustion off in my own home,” he said. His tone was cold, but his body language didn’t speak of anger – rather, if Naruto hadn’t known better, he’d think that he looked a little sad. “I’ve spent enough of my life in a hospital bed.”

Sakura’s shoulders dropped. “Okay,” she said quietly. “That makes sense.” She crossed her arms. “Still, as a medical-nin, I can’t let you screw around with your health. At least let me examine you, just to be sure that you _can_ actually sleep this off.”

Kakashi let her. After making sure that he wasn’t hurt otherwise, Sakura told him that he’d probably be okay after another two or three days of bed rest. She then seemingly concluded that she still hadn’t done enough, because she left soon afterwards to buy some painkillers for Kakashi. Naruto didn’t entirely get it – chakra exhaustion only made him very sleepy. He’d never given it much thought that one’s body might start to hurt when it didn’t have enough energy to function.

In the wake of the argument, Kakashi-sensei seemed even more tired than he’d been before. He gave Naruto a smile that looked a little strained and then started to push himself upright. Naruto noticed how badly his arms shook underneath his weight, but he kept his mouth shut about it. Sakura said Kakashi-sensei would be fine. There was no need for Naruto to make his sensei even more uncomfortable than he already was.

Kakashi eventually hauled himself onto the edge of his bed. He took off his sandals – he wasn’t leaving the house anymore, anyway – and pulled his legs onto the bed in a comfortable pose. He took off his headband as well, making his hair fall into his face. His eyes were closed again.

Naruto suddenly felt an inexplicable guilt that he was _here_. He felt like an intruder, and he felt guilty that the circumstances didn’t allow him to leave his sensei alone when he so desperately needed to _sleep_.

“Hey, sensei?” he asked.

“Hm?” He didn’t open his eye.

“I’m sorry we broke into your apartment.”

Kakashi snorted – a surprised laugh. “That’s okay. Most people who break into my apartment, have far worse intentions than you did.”

“And I’m sorry we started an argument with you. Twice.”

“That was for the best, in the end, I guess.” Kakashi opened his right eye to give Naruto an amused look. “I just hope arguing won’t turn into a habit.”

“Oh, yeah, it definitely will. From now on, all of our conversations will be us screaming at one another.” Naruto smirked. “I’m being sarcastic, but that _would_ be pretty funny.”

“Please don’t.”

“Nah, it wouldn’t even be possible. Fifty percent of our team never raises their voice above speaking volume.”

Another silence fell. Naruto grew a bit more nervous. It was weird to see his sensei so vulnerable. He guessed that it was partially because he wasn’t wearing his flak jacket; it made him look smaller. It was strange to see both Kakashi’s eyes outside of a fight, as well. Naruto kept expecting his left eye to open and show an intimidating sharingan, but that did not happen.

“Hey, sensei?”

“What’s wrong, Naruto?”

“You really are going to be okay, aren’t you?”

Kakashi raised his eyebrows at him. “I guess so, yeah. Why?”

“Nothing,” Naruto replied with a smile. “It’s just important, so I needed to know.”

Before Kakashi could reply, there came a knock at the door. Sai pushed the door open with his foot. He was basically buried underneath full grocery bags – Naruto wondered how he’d even made it back here. “I’m back,” Sai said, sing-songing his words for some mysterious reason. “I hope this is enough food.”

“Oh, I’m sure it is,” Kakashi deadpanned. “I just hope you’ll be able to fit it all in the fridge.”

“I’ll help,” Naruto said, jumping up. “Let’s hurry, Sai; we should really start cooking before Sakura comes back. If we let her help, she’ll kill us all.”

The other people on Kakashi’s floor were very confused as to why some strange kids were cooking dinner in their shared kitchen, but nobody stopped them. In the end, Sai and Naruto produced some kind of vegetable soup that was reasonably edible; it wasn’t what they’d planned, but they’d overcooked the vegetables so much that they’d basically become soup by themselves. Sai was right when he’d said that he was a better cook than both Naruto and Sakura, but that still didn’t make him a very good cook.

Almost immediately after eating, Kakashi-sensei fell asleep, so the students very quietly did the dishes in the kitchen and then left the building afterwards.

They stayed nearby, though. The roof made for a comfortable place to spend the night. The temperature was nice and warm, but Naruto was sure that if it had been storming or snowing, they would’ve stayed here, too.

Most of the time, it was a sensei’s job to look after his students. Sometimes, though, it was the other way around, and that was okay. After all, Team Kakashi didn’t train to improve their technique.

This team trained to improve their teamwork.

-END-

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thanks for reading :)
> 
> I really needed to write some soft Kakashi content, because he’s my favorite character, and also because I’m currently in the middle of Pain’s Assault in Shippuuden – yeah, _that_ part. Not a great time for Kakashi.
> 
> This was also my first time writing Sai, and he’s. Amazing. He’s a joy to watch but he’s even more fun to write. He’s an awkward baby and I love him for it.
> 
> Again, thank you for reading! I hope you liked it; please leave kudos/a comment if you did!
> 
> Oh, and PS: If you somehow read this as _any_ type of ship between sensei and student, then I will come to your house and eat your Christmas presents.


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